How much weight can a rock climbing rope hold?
Single and twin ropes must have an impact force of 12 kN. This means that you can carry a maximum weight of 1200 kilograms (2646 pounds). Half ropes must have a maximum impact force of 8 kN. This means a maximum payload of 800 kilograms (1764 pounds).
The force rating indicates the maximum amount of force the rope can deliver to a falling climber, measured in kilonewtons (kN), under test conditions designed to simulate a hard fall; typical climbing ropes range from 9kN up to an Arborist's 24kN.
Assuming you're not trolling: yes your buddy can top rope just fine on any UIAA rated climbing rope. Ropes are rated by the amount of impact force they can withstand. Most 10mm ropes are rated for about 8 Kn. Force = mass x acceleration, in this case acceleration is gravity, 9.8 m/s.
Rope strength depends on thickness and material. A 50ft spool that weights ten pounds corresponds to a thickness of one inch. The break strength on a one-inch Manila rope is 8,100 lbs. Cotton weighs slightly less, but it's break strength at that weight/50ft is only 3,000 lbs.
When Does A Climbing Rope Break? | Climbing Daily Ep.989 - YouTube
How many falls can a climbing rope take? Short answer: A typical ISO approved climbing rope can take a minimum of 5 falls.
Rope inspection is the most important aspect in determining if your rope is safe to climb on. Despite inspection, 10 years is the max lifespan recommended by any manufacturer. And that lifespan is 10 years from manufacturer date, no matter if the rope is used a lot, or none at all.
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Details.
Impact Force (kN @ FF.3) | Elongation at 300 lb (%) |
5.8 | 3.3 |
Weight (lb/100') | MBS Rating (lb) |
5.1 | 7,306 |
Sheath Slippage | MBS Rating (kN) |
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How Do You Measure Rope Strength?
Half ropes make building a gear belay much easier, as you can use both ropes to equalize yourself to the gear. Rather than having one central point that you tie into, you can have two, with one rope going to each.
How safe is climbing rope?
Top Rope Climbing or Top Roping is safer than all other forms of climbing when proper technique is used. With a good belay and a solid set of anchors, very few accidents happen to climbers who are top roping. Climbers need to be attentive on the belay, and very careful when setting up anchors.
Nylon. Nylon ropes are the strongest variety of all the common types of rope. Their synthetic material allows them to lift extremely heavy loads.

Climbing ropes are not tested for tensile breaking strength like most other gear. But, if you stretch a rope until it breaks, that will probably happen around 18 Kn.
Climbing a rope without your legs is an extremely challenging climbing technique and requires tremendous upper body strength.
Types of Climbing Ropes
There are two main types of ropes: dynamic and static. Dynamic ropes are designed to stretch to absorb the impact of a falling climber. Static ropes stretch very little, making them very efficient in situations like lowering an injured climber, ascending a rope, or hauling a load up.
Not surprisingly there was very little difference in HRs between the exercises. After all, these were short sets with ample recovery time. Each training set lasted between 11 and 19 seconds. With the kipping pull-ups being the shortest (average = 12.5 sec) and the rope climb being the longest (average = 17.0 sec).
Bouldering is much harder than top roping because it requires more strenuous and dynamic moves to send a route. The starting bouldering grades are also more challenging than starting top-roping routes because there's no safety equipment.